NHT SuperZeros vs Audioengine P4

The NHT SZ speakers only go down to 90 Hz; not low enough to give the best audio for music listening.They also have poor sensitivity, which a separate issue.

You really want something that goes down to around 50-60 Hz, or you will have monaural sound up to 90 Hz, which does not sound very good. The best sound quality is achieved by operating the sub only below 60 Hz.

I suggest the Cambridge S30 speakers, which will do a much better job, or some other speaker that has a frequency response down to at least 60 Hz or lower.

The Audioengine P4 would also be OK, but I think the S30 speakers sound better and are a bit less money. They are both the same size.
Edited by commsysman - 7/2/12 at 10:46pm

Ah, good point! Maybe the P4 is the way to go then.

Another good comparable option to the Cambridge S30 would be the Mordaunt Short Carnival 2. The are very similar, one of the main differences is that they are front ported.

I've had both the SuperZero 2.0 and P4 in my house... I can tell you that the SZ2.0 does not get anywhere near 90Hz with any authority, and really needs a 120Hz or higher xover.
http://www.hometheater.com/content/nht-superzero-20-speaker-system-ht-labs-measures

The P4 has a bit better low end, but really needs rear wall or desktop reinforcement to bring the bass up to match the upper part of the spectrum... which you mentioned you'd be doing.
http://www.stereomojo.com/Audio%20Engine%20P4%20Speaker%20Review/AudioEngineP4SpeakerReview.htm

I've also had the S30 in my home, and they are MUCH more capable - both in bass extension and SPL - than the other 2 options. Also, despite the specs saying it's a 4.5" woofer, it is noticeably larger than the woofer in the P4 and SZ2.0. It's close in size to what mose companies call a 5.25" woofer (yes, I've measured).

Cambridge does recommend at least 3-4" clearance behind them, although I think they'd benefit from a little more than that. These speakers don't have alot of baffle step compensation in the xover, so the tweeter is shelved up just a bit relative to the woofer, so having them close to the wall is not necessarily bad... as long as they aren't jammed right up against it.

The Mordaunt Carnival 2 looks to be very similar to the S30, so the front porting may be helpful if you need them really close to the rear wall.

If the S30 is a viable option - check AVHiFi,com. They have a couple open box pairs at a nice savings... and they have an active 10% off coupon floating around the net that will drop the price a bit more...

In addition the speakers that alphaiii suggested, also look at the Energy RC-10s, currently on closeout at Vanns for $200 a pair. These are rear ported like the S30, so they would need placement 6 inches or so away from a wall. Otherwise, you can run them with the rear port plugged (comes with plugs) if you run them with a subwoofer.